Dream Aquarium Screensaver

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Editors' Review

Dream Aquarium Screensaver offers users an opportunity to turn their computer screen into a fish tank when they are not using it. With a surprising amount of options, you can control virtually every aspect of the program except for one important one.

The program has a somewhat confusing interface that requires the user to right-click on the aquarium as it's running in order to access the Options menu. But the actual fish tank action is impressive. Up to six species of sea creatures (the trial limits the tank to six) move in realistic ways and look lifelike, whether they are brightly colored angelfish or crabs scurrying about on the sea floor. The program's options are the highlight of the program once the menu is accessed. Users can choose between seven different aquariums, different fish, lighting, and can even feed the fish. While it seems like every opportunity was taken for users to control the tank, the designers neglected to give them as much control over when the screensaver operates. Throughout the extensive Options menu we only found one vague command to set when the aquarium appears, and oddly, this was only when the computer was running on battery.

While its lack of direction for controlling the program was annoying, it wasn't enough to deter us from the spectacular graphics and options for the aquarium. Anyone interested in filling the screen undersea life should give this download a shot.

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Publisher's Description

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From Spiralmonkey:
Created by an Academy Award winning visual effects artist, this next-generation virtual aquarium brings the beauty of a lush freshwater aquarium to your screen, complete with gently swaying plants, rippling light effects, and the most realistic fish movement and behavior of any virtual aquarium and screensaver. Watch as your amazing fish school together, chase each other, peck at object in the tank, or drop in some food and watch the feeding frenzy begin. Watch the feisty fiddler crab run after and try to catch nearby fish. Once you try Dream Aquarium you'll realize what all our fans and customers know--that no other aquarium screensaver even comes close to the beauty and realism of our product. Our free trial version lets you preview several of our species in action, and isn't loaded with toolbars, adware or any other garbage. We just do fish, and we do them well. Full version includes 27 fish species. Some species have randomly generated patterns, so each one you plop in your tank is unique. There's even a fish you can color yourself. Try it, we know you'll be hooked.

*more than 2 dozen different and very colorful fish + 2 ornery Fiddler Crabs to chase them+multiple feeding options
**3 tanks with moving foliage + adjustable bubbles + adjustable bubble sounds+adjustable 'camera' angles
***ability to change backgrounds with any picture you have
****ability to change speed of tank (slow-lazy-normal-fast)
*****absolutely amazing level of reality on 60"@1080p
******I was addicted in mere minutes!
*******allows installation on 3 devices
********can be used as screensaver or just for play
*********fascinates kids of all ages-definitely "G" Rated! (try taking it away)

Cons

no Cons! no Cons! no Cons! no Cons at all!!

Summary

This is an Aquarium with fish so real looking you might think they are. The program was made by an Academy Award winning (that's an Oscar folks) visual effects artist. There's really nothing more that needs saying. Well worth the money!

ads constantly pop up right in the middle of the screen and the only way to get rid of them is to open the dream aquarium website, which of course closes the screensaver defeating the purpose of having it in the first place. I uninstalled it.

Your review is inconsistent with various clear, direct statements by the software maker, the publisher and other professional and amateur reviewers, which assert that "Dream Aquarium v1.2591" doesn't contain adware, toolbars, malware, or any other items not directly related to the intended fish and appurtenances. Even other reviewers here do not mention supplemental unwanted features; they just rave about the software. Your problematical product is apparently different than theirs, not likely to be authentic, and probably should be "tanked" (Groan!).

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